A console that won’t play used games? FAIL

Remember this? Cloud gaming pioneer OnLive gave gamers the chance to play games anywhere you could find a broadband connection. For just $10 a month, you could play tons of video games with the microconsole. And for a fraction of the price, you could buy games to play via OnLive. To push OnLive into more homes, the service teamed with Square-Enix to offer a FREE OnLive version of the game “Deus-Ex: Human Revolution” for anyone buying the PC version of the game. Gamestop didn’t like that and opened every copy of the game, removed the vouchers and offered customers a $40 in-store credit.

Now? OnLive still exists, but the service shakeup proves one thing is certain – gamers want access to their games. Period. Any console that offers just cloud-based gaming or lacks the ability to play used games is never going to sell with consumers, no matter how cool the system is.

The ability for friends to swap video games among friends and play the games at home has been a mainstay since the days of the Atari 2600. I was a tween when my friend Danny brought his 2600 cartridges – Pac-Man and Pitfall – to school with him to swap with friends who also owned 2600s. It was the best way to figure out if the game was cool enough to bug our parents for the games, or bag extra groceries at the base commissary or pick up a few extra paper routes. I’m trying to imagine the 2600 without the ability to play games swapped between friends.

There aren’t many industries that penalize customers for buying used items. From automobiles to clothes, and even used Blu Ray/DVD/CDs can be bought new, sold and resold until the items wear out. Imagine having to repay each time to watch a movie, to use a pair of pants from a thrift store. Sounds silly, huh?

The new Sony PlayStation 4, called Orbis, is rumored to have a feature that won’t let owners play used games. I am not sure how that’s even possible, but if proven true, Sony can expect customer backlash unlike anything they have ever seen. Having a console that will not let owners play used games – and the device isn’t a cloud-based gaming system – will stop potential sales.

Think about it from a young gamer standpoint. You can only play new games on your system. You see “Duke Nukem Forever” and want to play it. It costs $60. You buy it, because you can’t play a friend’s copy or rent it from RedBox. You spend $60 and realize you have been had. Instead of trading it in or selling it on craigslist or eBay, you are stuck with the game. The publisher and developer thank you for the sale. However, this will just make customers mad. They will wait for reviews on the games before buying. And if the game is meh, sales will suffer.

Here are a few reasons why making a console that doesn’t play used games WILL FAIL:

1. It saves money for gamers. How many times have gamers bought a game and regretted it? At least you can return the game and get some credit for it or just resell it outright. Not only that, but the gamers are still going to buy a game to play on YOUR system.

2. Try before you buy. Imagine buying a car without ever test driving it. While that’s possible if you are buying a Ferrari FF or another car costing $200K and upward, why allow it for games? It’s $60 and giving gamers the ability to rent a game to determine if they like the game and want to buy it. Don’t limit that, please.

3. You break it, you rebuy it. Imagine the horror when man’s best friend steps on that new, shiny copy of “Contra.” You cry. At least you can go to Gamestop and get a new copy – or used one. Not with the new system – you have to buy a brand-new copy. Yes, it brings another sale to the publisher, but costs the customer dearly.

4. If you want to press forward, your console will fail. I don’t care how awesome your system is – remove the ability to play used games, expect the console to fail. I promise, it will be tragic. Don’t risk it.

5. If the console ships with that firmware that bans used games, there will be a hack/mod out within weeks, if not days. Mark my words. The mod community won’t stand for it. They’ll figure a nice workaround and exploit it. Then, the console maker will release a firmware update. Weeks later, there will be another mod. Just let this pipe dream go.